The Shadowed Path
by Nikana Olos
Summary: Ulrich moves to America, now all of Kadic's students are part of an exchange program! Will Xana win with the heroes thousands of miles away?
1. Default Chapter

**Note:** This is my first attempt at a fan fic, so please, be kind with the reviews.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Code: Lyoko. Duh.

**The Shadowed Path**

Ulrich pulled his sword out of the XANA symbol and leapt clear. Moments later, the block exploded, sending shrapnel everywhere.

"Ulrich!" Yumi shouted, "Behind you!"

He turned, only to find a glowing XANA symbol staring back at him. The mega tank's laser hit him dead-on, sending him flying back into a tree.

"Thirty life points left, Ulrich." Came the ever-present voice of Jeremie. "You need to get to Aelita! She's pinned down by two hornets."

"I can handle the hornets," Odd said, firing a volley of laser arrows. "You just take out that mega-tank."

Ulrich charged at the tank as it opened its armor shell for another shot. "Impact!" he shouted as his sword stabbed through the XANA symbol.

The mega tank exploded just as Ulrich was hit from behind by a crab's charge shot. His world went white, then the familiar view of the scanner's interior appeared. Ulrich staggered out as the door opened, then smiled as the world went white once more.

Well, there it is. I know it's incredibly short, but that felt like a good place to stop. The next chapters will be _much_ longer.

Remember, readersmore reviews equal more chapters!


	2. Farewell, Happy Days

**Note:** You guys get a new chapter without having to review, because I'm too lazy to wait for you to read my story. Lucky you! However, don't expect this next time!

**Disclaimer:** Again, I don't own Code: Lyoko. I wish I did, so season two would hurry up and come already!

The Shadowed Path

Ulrich couldn't sleep, which for once had nothing to do with Odd's snoring. He was worrying about the cryptic letter he had gotten from his parents. All it said was that they needed to talk to him, and that he needed to meet them in the principal's office tomorrow at 9 am sharp.

"_I wonder what's going on."_ He thought, tossing and turning under his covers. _"I haven't done anything to get myself in trouble lately, have I?"_

Odd coughed suddenly, bringing Ulrich out of his contemplative state. He was vaguely aware that the wake-up bell had just gone off. _"Whoa, I've been awake all night worrying. I'm really going to regret this during class"_

"Hey, thinking about Yumi?"

Ulrich felt his face go bright red, and then he retaliated by throwing an alarm clock at Odd, who managed to avoid the clock. Barely.

"Hey, they shoulda cast me in The Matrix! Did you see that?"

"Odd, you fell off your bed while trying to duck. Usually actors need to be able to make simple movements." Ulrich snickered, glad that Odd changed the subject. "Anyway, I've got to be in the principal's office in half an hour. I should have enough time for breakfast if I hurry."

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Odd asked, clearly excited by the thought of food.

Thirty Minutes Later

"WHAT?" Ulrich bellowed. "You can't do this to me! At least not on such short notice! What about my friends?"

"Ulrich, keep your voice down while you are in my office!" Principal Delmas snapped.

"Ulrich, listen. We really need the money that this job would bring in, and the company wouldn't let your father work from anywhere but their main office. Please, honey, just try to understand. We had very little choice in the matter. Besides, don't you want to see America?" Ulrich's mother pleaded, trying to talk some sense into her son.

"And as for your friends, you would be able to keep in touch with them by email or phone." Ulrich's father reasoned.

Ulrich knew that it wasn't just leaving his friends that had him worried. It was also his worries that if he left Kadic, then XANA would have less oppostition in his plans for world conquest.

And then there was also the thought of losing Yumi.

He knew that he loved her, and from what Odd and Jeremie said, she reciprocated those feelings. He couldn't understand why he could never share his feelings with her, though. It was like his tongue turned to jelly at the mere thought of it. And now, he might never get the chance.

Two Days Later

"_Where is she?"_ Ulrich wondered. He was about to board the plane, and there was no sign of Yumi anywhere. Odd and Jeremie had just left, promising to keep on fighting XANA. Ulrich just wanted to see Yumi one last time, and tell her how he really felt.

"Ulrich, hurry up! The plane will be taking off soon!" His mother was saying as he snapped out of his reverie.

Begrudgingly, Ulrich passed through the gate and took his seat in the first-class section.

His mind was on happier times as the plane lifted off, leaving Ulrich's former life behind…

(A/N): Pretty sad, hmm? Trust me, this is just the beginning…

This time, I'm not posting my next chapter until I get at least ONE review. I promise. Really. I mean it.


	3. An Ominous Twist

**Note: **I got three reviews, so you get a new chapter! That wasn't so hard, now was it?

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Code: Lyoko. Obviously, you know that if you've read the other chapters.

The Shadowed Path

Yumi arrived at the airport out of breath, thanks to her parents leaving early for work. She dashed to the desk in the terminal, nearly bowling over an elderly couple in her hurry to get to the front of the line.

"Excuse me, where's the gate that the 9 am flight to Seattle is leaving from?" she asked the clearly annoyed ticket taker, ignoring the glares from the other people in line.

"I'm sorry, miss, but it's taking off. If you would like a new flight, please move to the back of the line," the politely disdainful woman said.

"No, you misunderstand. My best friend is on that flight, and I never got a chance to say goodbye!" Yumi practically wept.

"There's nothing I can do, dear. The plane is on its way to Seattle right now."

Yumi stalked off dejectedly, tossing a small parcel into the garbage as she left the airport.

Unbeknownst to her, the ticket taker hurried over to the trash can and took the parcel out, noting the name on the front. She walked back to her desk, inputting the name into the database and searching for a match while the people in line looked on.

The computer came up with a match within a few seconds, and the woman quickly stuck a shipping label onto the package and wrote down the address listed on the screen. She tossed it into the airmail bin, and resumed her task of admitting people to their boarding gates.

Three years later

Yumi, Odd, Aelita, and Jeremie are joking in the cafeteria while Sissi seethes in the background. All of them look basically the same as when they went to school at Kadic, but Aelita's virus hasn't yet been cured. Jeremie finally gave up on talking to Aelita through a computer, and materialized her for good, while writing a program that would automatically alert him if a tower were activated.

Jeremie pulls out his laptop to check on Lyoko, when suddenly an announcement comes over the intercom.

"Attention, students. There will be an assembly this afternoon in the auditorium. This is a mandatory school event. That is all."

"I wonder what that's about?" Jeremie wondered out loud.

"I don't know, but we're going to be late for first period if Odd doesn't hurry it up," Yumi grimaced.

"Hey, when you eat as much as I do, you have to eat it slowly to avoid cramps!" Odd argued while stuffing his face with cereal.

Six hours later

"Welcome, students. I have brought you here to announce that we here at Napoleon High will be participating in a foreign exchange program!" the principal announced.

His audience mumbled in acknowledgement as he continued, "The coordinators at the American school have already selected the people who will be exchanged. The participants are: Milly Solovieff, Anne-Sophie Munier, Tamiya Diop, Xavier Gosselin, Emilie Leduc, Jeremie Belpois, Elisabeth Delmas, Bastien Roux, Herb Pichon, Thomas Jolivet, Aelita Lyoko, Theo Gauthier, Odd Della Robbia, Nicolas Poliakoff, Yumi Ishiyama, and Priscilla Blaisse. Please come to the administrative building after school to pick up you permission forms."

"WHAT?" Yumi, Aelita, Jeremie, and Odd said in unison.

Odd whispered to the rest of the group, "What if this XANA attempting to get rid of our interference? What if when we leave, he launches an attack and there's nothing in his way?" Aelita stayed oddly silent during his speculation, but nobody thought anything of it.

"Aelita Lyoko, I have a note for you from the student liason at Washington High," the principal interrupted.

As Aelita left, Yumi snickered, "Student liason. Probably some bureaucratic nerd who has no social life."

Moments later, Aelita returned with the note open is her hands. "This 'liason' apparently has heard of me, and has asked specifically for me to be our student coordinator, who I will be in contact with."

"There's something not quite right about this. Obviously this is no ordinary school-planned exchange trip, since whomever the coordinator was chose _only_ people who went to Kadic with us," Jeremie noted.

"You're right, Jeremie. I picked up on that too…" Yumi said, frowning.

"Well guys, I think we should put it to a vote. All in favor of going through with the trip?"

(End Chapter)

(A/N) Yes, that chapter was sort of dull, but it hints at things to come, and it ties the settings together. The next chapter will definetly involve a bit more action (not necessarily on Lyoko, though)

Thanks to KeikoNishidera for pointing out that I had Ulrich's name on the list of people to be exchanged! I was on autopilot I guess.

Yes, all the names on that list are eople from the show. If you doubt it, check the secondary characater list on won't post the next chapter until I get three more reviews!


	4. Light is Shed

**Note:** I appreciate the reviews people! Just keep writing them!

**Disclaimer:** For the fourth time, I don't own Code: Lyoko. If you're tired of seeing this, too bad. I don't feel like being sued today.

The Shadowed Path 

From inside the plane, the ground seemed to crawl past. Aelita marveled at how the land ten thousand feet below seemed to be a huge patchwork quilt, each farm representing a square. However, her contemplative state was quickly shattered by Odd's voice.

"Aelita, can you pass the in-flight catalog?"

Aelita passed the magazine over to Odd, then smiled at Jeremie. "So, what do you think America will be like?"

"I've been busy trying to figure out who this "liason" could be. It seems pretty convenient that we don't get to even see a picture of him until we're there. I—"

"I hope that whoever he is, he has a large refrigerator," Odd interrupted, "filled with soda and ice cream. I'm starving."

"Odd, you've had four sodas already, and we're only halfway there. Honestly, can't you ever think about anything but food?" Yumi interjected. She had been subdued throughout most of the trip, in a state of quiet reflection. Aelita could guess that she was thinking about Ulrich. Aelita knew that they had been very close friends, on the verge of becoming something more, when fate pulled Ulrich away.

Aelita had tried to console her, as had Odd and Jeremie, but she still was constantly reminded of when Ulrich had been there.

However, Aelita was pleased to see Yumi smile as Odd started ripping small pieces out of the magazine, chewing them up, and throwing them at Sissi. Aelita then joined Yumi in laughing hysterically as Odd was hit over the head with Sissi's purse.

Somehow, Aelita knew that this was only the first of good things to come…

Eight Hours Later

Yumi stumbled off the plane, having trouble adjusting to suddenly having to walk after 17 hours of sitting.

Odd reached out a hand to steady her, and she accepted it gratefully. "Thanks, Odd. Now let's get our baggage and find our bus."

"And then we eat, right?"

Yumi smacked Odd across the back of the head.

The Next Day

"Well guys, today's the day we meet our exchange families and this mysterious coordinator." An impromptu meeting was being held in the hotel room shared by Odd and Jeremie.

"I don't think XANA's behind this," Yumi finally spoke after an uncomfortable silence.

"Why not?" Odd inquired.

"Think about it. If it was XANA, he could have crashed the plane over the Atlantic and gotten rid of us then and there. There are hundreds of ways he could have disposed of us during the trip, and _nothing happened_."

"Yes, but what if he's trying to lure us into a false sense of security?" Odd wondered.

"XANA has proved to us over and over again that he has no subtlety. If he was going to do something, it would have already happened," Jeremie added his voice to the argument.

A sharp rapping noise at the door made them all turn. "Guys, meet in the lobby in five minutes to find out your assigned exchange family."

"I hope all of our exchange families live near each other," Odd grimaced, "What if we end up on opposite sides of town?"

"Odd, even if that does happen, we _are_ going to the same school," Aelita pointed out.

"Oh yeah…"

Ten Minutes Later

"All of our houses are within a block of each other," Jeremie noted as the group walked to the bus.

"Great, now we're all going to have to buy earplugs to drown out Odd's snoring," Aelita laughed.

Odd turned bright red, "You know, I never got this kind of abuse when Ulrich—" He quickly stopped after seeing what affect Ulrich's name had on Yumi.

"Okay, students, you get two hours to meet your exchange families, then we meet at the school at three o' clock. Any questions?" The escort had a difficult time being heard over the conversation in the bus.

On the trip to their new houses, Aelita and Jeremie were debating Einstein's theory of relativity, while Odd and Yumi plotted pranks to use on Sissi.

"Okay, would pudding in the hair work?"

"Nah, her hair's so greasy, the pudding would just slide off. Maybe hot sauce in her chocolate milk?"

"Knowing her, she'd probably like it!" Yumi giggled.

Two Hours and Thirty Minutes Later

"Guys, this is it. Be on your guard. We still don't know who this person actually is," Yumi instructed.

"Or even if it is a person…" Odd muttered under his breath.

The door to the school conference room opened, revealing a long table with name cards to show where people were supposed to sit. There was also one large chair at the end, facing away from the door. Yumi sat at the end of the table on the right, Sissi in a mirroring position on the left.

"Come on in," a male voice said from the end of the table.

After everyone had taken their seats, the chair slowly swiveled to face the students.

Yumi and Sissi leapt to their feet and screamed at the top of their lungs.

(End Chapter)

(A/N) Ooh. I'm mean. See that little button below the next line? If three people click on it, you get a new chapter! It's that simple.

PS: How's that for longer chapters?


	5. Two Familiar Faces

**Note:** And now, what you've all been waiting for…I present to you—The identity of the "liaison"!

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Code: Lyoko. Period.

The Shadowed Path 

Sissi ran at the occupant of the chair, crashing into an unseen object. The other people in the room were alternating between gaping at the person in the chair and laughing their heads off at Sissi.

"Plexiglas. Ya gotta love it!" said a person Yumi had never expected to see again. She completely forgot where she was and dashed to him, embraced him, then brushed her lips lightly against his.

"I missed you too, Yumi…" Ulrich said softly. They abruptly remembered where they were, jumping up. Yumi returned to her seat, blushing crimson, while Ulrich regained his composure and prepared to speak to the class.

"Umm…I want to officially welcome all of you to Washington High. I'm sure many of you know me, but for those who don't…" As Ulrich gave his speech, Odd started talking to Yumi.

"I always knew the two of you had feelings for each other!" Odd grinned, and then grimaced as Yumi kicked his knee, directing his attention back to the front of the room.

Ulrich was smirking at Odd as he said, "The school cafeteria is open 8 am through 4 pm, so you can get snacks between classes as long as you make it to class on time. That brings us to the next item on the list—the class schedule…"

One Hour Later

Yumi, Odd, Jeremie, and Aelita were in a circle around Ulrich as they all shared stories about what had happened since Ulrich left Kadic.

"…so then she jumps up, and throws it at _Theo_, thinking he was the one that threw it at her in the first place! Then, naturally, Theo, being innocent, threw it back at her, so a huge food fight got started, and _Sissi_ took the blame!" Odd was briefing Ulrich on all of the various pranks that Sissi had been on the receiving end of.

"You guys want to go see the town?" Ulrich asked.

"Sounds good to me!" Jeremie grinned, happy to have the subject turned away from Odd's exploits. Yumi and Aelita seemed to agree.

"Me too."

"Yeah, same here."

"Okay, where do you guys want to start? There's the movie theater, twenty different parks, the mall, etc," Ulrich got up and led the group down the steps.

"Definitely the movies!" Yumi said.

"Yeah, the movies sound fun." Jeremie and Aelita said in unison, grinning at each other.

"If you think that the fact that they say the same things is creepy, you should see them during class. It's like they've been practicing synchronized hand-raising!" Yumi laughed, while Jeremie and Aelita blushed.

"Aww, I wanted to go to the mall. I wanted to see what an American food court is like…" Odd whined from the back of the group.

"I can see that Odd hasn't changed much!" Ulrich snickered.

Fifteen Minutes Later

The gang walked into the lobby of the theater, Odd plowing past everyone to get to the concession stand. Jeremie and Aelita went to get tickets, while Ulrich and Yumi stood there uncomfortably.

"Ulrich…" Yumi started.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry I didn't meet you at the terminal the day you left," Yumi said apologetically, " My parents forgot that I needed a ride, so by the time I got to the airport, you were taking off. I had something I wanted to give to you, but—"

"Yumi, I got it." Ulrich unfastened a small chain from around his neck. It had been hidden by his shirt before, and Yumi had never noticed it. A small Japanese coin was attached. Yumi knew it had to be the same one that she had brought to the airport and thrown away. She wondered how it had reached him, the remembered the ticket taker.

"I've worn this every day since I got it. This coin has reminded me of you, and all the good times we shared. It kept me going when I thought I couldn't go on, and I knew that some day we would be together again." Ulrich looked into Yumi's eyes, noticing a small tear forming in the corner of her right eye.

They embraced, and their heads were moving toward each other when they heard a coughing noise. They looked up to see Odd smirking, Jeremie staring at them, and Aelita smiling warmly.

"Ha!" Odd shouted, "Finally! Finally they—oof!" Ulrich elbowed Odd in the stomach, then grabbed Yumi's hand and walked into the dark theater, which was almost empty. Yumi and Ulrich took seats in the far back. Jeremie and Aelita took seats three rows ahead of Ulrich and Yumi, while Odd chose a seat right in the middle of the theater, with his snacks spread out on the seats to either side.

The lights turned down and the movie started, but two of the audience members weren't paying any attention.

Meanwhile, six thousand miles away, something awoke. It sent part of itself across the globe, where a mysterious black fog emerged from a streetlight, heading straight toward the section of town where the old abandoned warehouses were located. It entered one in particular, passing through a door. What was inside was _exactly_ what the fog wanted. This was perfect. They would never be able to stop him now…

(End Chapter)

(A/N) Dun dun dun…

Congrats to renayumi for correctly guessing that the liaison was Ulrich!

The first person to correctly guess what XANA found wins a prize! So send a review in with your idea immediately, before someone else beats you to the punch!


	6. The Good, the Bad, and the XANA

**Note:** This chapter will be _very_ long, since I have to incorporate a ton of new material into it. Also, for the sake of this story, Yumi is the same age as Ulrich and the others. She was just a year ahead at Kadic because she was so smart. Anyway, enjoy the story!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Code: Lyoko.

The Shadowed Path 

Ulrich met the gang on the school's stairs the next morning. "Ready for your first day of American schooling?"

"Yeah, I guess," Yumi said, not looking too thrilled.

"Definitely!" Jeremie practically screamed.

"No," Odd chimed in.

"Yes, I'm really looking forward to it!" Aelita giggled.

"I am as well!" A sickeningly sweet, all-too familiar voice behind them said. Odd didn't even bother aiming; he just tossed his notebook over his shoulder, and was rewarded with Herb's cry of surprise as it hit him in the face.

"What do you want, Sissi? Or should I say Ms. Black-and-Blue?" Ulrich said, noting the large blue-gray bruise on Sissi's forehead.

"Sure, show off for your friends, why don't you? We all know how you really feel about me, and how you're only with _her_ because you haven't gotten up the courage to ask me out yet." Sissi glared at Yumi, who was trying valiantly not to crack up.

_Yes, it is kind of hard to face down a hideous monster_… Ulrich thought to himself. But what he said out loud was, "You know, you're right. I guess I will tell you how I really feel. But are you sure you want me to say it in front of Yumi?" A smile slowly spread on Ulrich's face.

"Anything you want to say, you can say in front of her." Sissi grinned back.

"Okay. Sissi, I've been wanting to tell you how I truly felt for a long time…"

"Yes, Ulrich?" Sissi clasped her hands and jumped into the air, pausing to throw a dirty look at Yumi, who knew what had to be coming.

"You're a conceited brat with no regard for human emotions. You have the looks of a horse, but you're not nearly as smart. You try to use your rat-like scheming abilities to surpass your shortcomings, while usually your plans backfire and make you look like even more of an idiot." Ulrich could almost feel the anger and embarrassment coming off Sissi, but he didn't care. "Now, I'm being _kind_ in my assessment. Are you having second thoughts about having me say this in front of everyone?"

Sissi just stalked off, her flunkies following her. Odd, Jeremie, and Yumi burst out laughing, while Aelita just smiled. "Serves her right for trying to break the two of you up."

"What do you mean, break them up? They're officially together?" Odd asked.

"Odd, when two people are about to kiss in the lobby of a movie theater, usually it means that they're together." Jeremie sniggered.

"And then there's how they were kissing during the movie!" Aelita pointed out.

"What'd you call what you and Jeremie were doing?" Yumi asked.

"This." Aelita pulled Jeremie into a passionate kiss, much to Jeremie's surprise. That continued for a while, Odd staring at them in amazement.

Finally, Aelita broke the kiss and said, "How was that?"

"Wow." Jeremie said, shocked.

Odd was about to make a sarcastic comment, but Aelita and Jeremie were saved from that by the bell. "This is it." Yumi stated nervously.

"Oh, stop it. It's just like school at Kadic, except we don't live on-campus. Just relax and you'll be fine." Ulrich reassured her.

They entered the building and headed for their lockers. Yumi's was right next to Ulrich's and Odd's was three lockers to the left of hers. Jeremie and Aelita had lockers across the hall. Ulrich opened his locker and shoved his backpack into it. He grabbed his books, and slammed his locker door shut so he could Yumi get her locker set up.

Five Minutes Later

The gang filed into their first class. "Man, Ulrich, I can't believe you got us into all the same classes!"

"Odd, it's easy to do stuff like that when you're the student liaison. I just told the school administrators that it would be easier for me to help you adjust if we had the same schedules. Oh, guys, I want you to meet some friends of mine," Ulrich pointed at two people that were taping a "Do Not Feed the Teacher" sign onto the teacher's desk. "These two clowns are Tyler and Jessa."

"Hey, Ulrich, are these your friends from France?" Tyler asked"

"Yeah, these are Odd, Jeremie, Aelita, and Yumi." Ulrich pointed at each of them in turn.

"You do realize you blushed when you said Yumi's name, right? I assume she's the reason you wouldn't go out with anyone here?" Jessa grinned. Yumi got the impression that Jessa had been one of the people who Ulrich had rejected.

Ulrich flushed crimson, then socked Jessa playfully in the arm.

As they took their seats, Ulrich held a whispered conversation with Odd, which quickly stopped as the teacher abruptly walked into the room. Odd nodded once at Ulrich, who nodded back.

"Okay, class, we have some new students that are visiting from Kadic Junior High in Paris, France. Please treat them with respect, as they will be here for the rest of the year. Now, my name is Mrs. Ash, for all you new students. This is…"

As the teacher's monologue began, Yumi cracked a smile as Odd snuck up to the front of the room and started making faces behind the teacher's back. The entire class laughed out loud as he moved so that he was always behind Mrs. Ash, as she tried to figure out what was so funny. Odd tapped her shoulder, and kept moving so that she never saw what it was. After about five minutes of that, he snuck back into his seat while she was facing the board.

Yumi knew that this was going to be a good year.

Two Hours Later

The whistle blew, and Odd watched as Ulrich and Yumi began to spar. Odd didn't know how Ulrich had convinced the coach to let Ulrich and Yumi have a martial arts demonstration, and frankly he didn't care. Odd just wanted a chance to rest. As Ulrich launched a series of kicks at Yumi, someone bumped into Odd from behind. He turned to find a dark-blonde haired girl climbing to her feet.

"Sorry about that. You're the guy that was making faces at Mrs. Ash, right? I remember that hair." She was the same height as Odd, and had light green eyes.

"Yeah, I'm the joker alright. My name is Odd."

"I'm Britta. You speak pretty good English for someone from France."

"Actually, I'm from New Zealand, but my parents sent me to school in France for some unknown reason. Ouch, that would hurt!" Odd watched Yumi plant a kick on Ulrich's torso. Surprisingly, Ulrich stayed upright, spinning around and leaping at Yumi. He began a flurry of offensive moves, driving Yumi back.

"Parents can be weird. Oh, there's the bell. I guess I'll see you around." Britta blushed.

Odd mentally smacked himself for not asking her out. _God, I'm worse than Ulrich was…_

Odd joined Jeremie and Ulrich on their way back to the locker room, who were discussing the demonstration, but Odd couldn't keep his thoughts off Britta…

One Hour and Fifteen Minutes Later

Yumi sat down at the lunch table, frowning when she noticed Odd had hardly touched his food. "Odd, are you feeling all right?"

"I'm fine. I've just got some stuff I need to think about."

Yumi smirked. "Girl trouble, hmm? Maybe you shouldn't have been teasing Ulrich?

"Okay, how did you know?" Odd banged his head on the table.

"Maybe it has something to do with the fact that you keep looking at that girl over there. The one in the blue shirt."

"Her name is Britta. I met her in PE while you and Ulrich were sparring."

"Well, go talk to her! She—" Yumi stopped as Ulrich entered the cafeteria at a run.

"Guys, we have a situation…" He spun as screams erupted from the table close to the door. A crab was in the double doors, looking straight at Ulrich, Yumi, and Odd.

"DOWN!" Ulrich screamed as the crab charged its laser. The laser fired, scorching the top of the table where Odd had been moments ago.

Ulrich ran over to the counter and leapt over it, into the kitchen. He grabbed several butcher knives, then tossed them to Yumi and Odd. "We've got to take this thing out and get everyone out of the school! Unless XANA's changed tactics on us, there'll be at least one more!"

Ulrich charged head-on at the crab, while Odd and Yumi flanked it. Ulrich jumped on top of it and stabbed down with the knife, leaving it embedded in the crab as he leapt clear. He barely made off before the crab exploded. He picked up his knife, shouting to the cafeteria, "Come on, we have to get outside! Odd, you lead them out while Yumi and I find Jeremie and Aelita."

Eight Minutes Later

Jeremie and Aelita were in the library, finishing off a crab that found them there.

"I have to run a scan and figure out where these things are coming from!" Jeremie ran to his laptop, typing like crazy.

After about a minute of typing, he went pale. "This is bad, this is very bad…"

"What is it?" Aelita asked, moving to read over his shoulder. She too went white. "Oh my god."

"It seems our good friend XANA has discovered a long-lost relative. From the readings I'm getting, he's found another supercomputer somewhere near here. The scan is showing a _huge_ data transfer, which can only mean one thing—XANA has created a connection between itself and this other computer. He's using it to materialize the crabs here, instead of in Paris." Jeremie scowled. "This could easily finish us off. We're six thousand miles from the factory, and if we try to take a plane, XANA will probably crash it."

"Wait. You said that XANA had to be using this other supercomputer to materialize the crabs, right?" A smile slowly spread on Ulrich's face.

"What on _earth_ are you smiling about? Yes, I—ohh…" Jeremie smiled too.

"If the crabs are materializing at that supercomputer, it has to have scanners, and if it has scanners, we can get to Lyoko to shut down the tower."

"Yes, but we still have to _find_ the supercomputer. All I know is that it's within a few kilometers of here." Jeremie closed his laptop and put it into his bag. "We'd better start the search."

"I know where to start. There are a ton of old warehouses and factories in the middle of town, and if the same people made this computer, they may have used the same cover to hide it."

"Good thinking. Let's get Odd, and get to work."

Thirty Minutes Later

"I'd say that's the place."

"What tipped you off, Odd? Maybe it was the crabs standing guard?" Ulrich studied the building. "Obviously, we aren't going in through the front."

Ten crabs were guarding the door to the warehouse. Yumi scanned the roof, spotting a small air vent. "Maybe we could go in through the ventilation system?"

"It would be a tight fit, but I think it would work. Now the question is how we get onto the roof."

"There's a system of pipes along that wall. It would be fairly simple to climb those."

"Yes, but that's inside the crabs' field of vision. There's no way we could make it up without them seeing us." Aelita pointed out.

"I'll go distract the crabs." Odd said. Everyone turned to stare at him. "I'll get their attention, then run off. Hopefully they'll follow me, and the pipes will be clear."

"Sounds like we've got a plan. Now let's put it into action." Jeremie started to move toward the warehouse, with the rest of the gang following quietly.

One Minute Later

"Hey, you! Yeah, you, six-eyes! Come and get me!" Odd attracted the attention of the crabs. He ran toward the highway, but unfortunately, only six of the crabs followed him. The other four remained in position around the door.

"Well, this we can handle!" Yumi said, brandishing her knife, "For Lyoko!"

She leapt out of hiding and ran at the crabs. Ulrich and Jeremie weren't far behind. As Yumi reached the first crab, it fired a laser at her, narrowly missing to sizzle harmlessly into the ground. Yumi got under the crab, stabbing upward wildly with her knife.

Meanwhile, Ulrich had his hands full with two of the remaining crabs. They were alternating between firing lasers and swiping with their claws, and Ulrich could barely avoid their attacks, much less mount one of his own. Finally one of the sweeping forelegs hit him. Ulrich was sent flying, crashing into a wall and falling to the ground.

As one of the crabs charged its main laser, Yumi came flying out of nowhere to land on top of the crab. The other crab tried to shoot her off, but instead it hit the crab's XANA symbol. Yumi leapt off, and the crab crumpled behind her. She made quick work of the other crab, cutting through its joints and then stabbing its XANA symbol.

Ulrich climbed to his feet woozily. "Thanks. I thought I was a goner." He gave Yumi a quick kiss.

"Umm, guys, a little help here?" Jeremie was barely able to ward off his crab. He had long ago dropped his knife, and had picked up a large metal pipe.

Before Ulrich or Yumi could react, however, a pink and red blur came flying out of a tree. Aelita knocked the crab over with a flying kick then impaled it with her knife.

"Where'd you learn to fight like that?" Ulrich asked incredulously.

"Yumi taught me. After you were gone, there was one less person to fight XANA, so I needed to be able to defend myself if necessary." Aelita grinned at Yumi.

"Later. Right now, we need to get inside." Ulrich started to climb the pipes.

"Wait. Why don't we just go in the front? The guards are gone now." Jeremie said.

"Think about it, Jeremie. The scanners are probably spewing crabs by the dozens, and unless you're feeling suicidal, we probably don't want to have to fight the entire way."

"Good thinking. Let's do it your way."

Five Minutes Later

"Well, that was easy, wasn't it?" Jeremie dropped out of the air vent into the control room. He took a seat in the chair while the others barricaded the door.

"This place seems much more…primitive than the factory." Aelita noted, examining the computer and the flickering hologram above it.

Jeremie called up some status windows. "Actually, this computer appears to be a prototype version of XANA. It has much less processing power, so it can't support Lyoko. Most of this thing's memory is being used for the connection."

Jeremie brought up several more windows, then typed for a few minutes. "That should work. I've just modified the connection to XANA, so now we can use the link to transfer into Lyoko. I've also blocked XANA out of the scanners, so no crabs will materialize when we go into the scanner room."

"What do you mean, we? Since when do you go into the scanners?" Ulrich asked.

"I can't monitor Lyoko from here, and activating the time-reversal program on this machine is out of the question. I'm going to use one of the scanners to transfer myself to the factory."

"You can do that?" Yumi wondered. "Also, what happens to the connection when we deactivate the tower?"

"The connection should remain, but just in case, I'm going to download a copy of the program onto this." Jeremie pulled out a USB mini memory stick. "I formatted this so that XANA's time-reversal program will ignore it, so any contents will remain after we return to the past. Now, let's go. Aelita, you manage the transfer, then I'll transfer you once I'm in the factory."

"Umm, guys…Where's Odd?"

"He was supposed to double back once the crabs had moved off! I thought he was behind you, Aelita."

"Ulrich, you go search for Odd. The rest of us will transfer."

Ulrich was already climbing up into the vent.

At that very moment, Odd was in trouble. The crabs had managed to follow him as he ran through the streets toward the freeway. He had tried to double back to the factory, but the crabs split up and caught him in a pincer movement, trapping him in a dead-end alley. As the crabs advanced, Odd searched frantically for a weapon, but nothing was within reach.

A crab's leg hit Odd in the stomach, sending him flying back into a wall. His head cracked loudly against the bricks, and the last thing he remembered before the darkness overtook him was blue blur launching itself at one of the crabs and a scream…

(End Chapter)

(A/N) Muahahaha! Another cliffhanger, another contest! Can you guess who came to Odd's rescue? (Here's a hint—this is taking place at the same time as Ulrich is climbing into the vent). When you post your guess this time, include your favorite hero (not including Jeremie).

Congratulations to KeikoNishidera, who correctly guessed what XANA found!

By now you should know the drill.

Reading the story + pressing the little button at the bottom of the page New Chapter


	7. Uhoh

**Note: **Sorry I haven't updated in a few weeks! I've had three types of writer's block—the kind where you can't think of what to write, the type where you're three thousand miles away from your computer, and the kind where you're not allowed to access your computer where most of the chapter is already written!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Code: Lyoko, but I do own Tyler, Jessa, and Britta. There will be more original characters in later chapters.

The Shadowed Path 

A brown-haired boy ran through the city's streets, looking frantically for his best friend. After ten minutes of searching, Ulrich was ready to give up. That is, until he heard the scream coming from a few blocks away.

He ran to the source of the sound, turning a corner into an alley. His jaw dropped in surprise as he watched a girl in a blue reduce three crabs to piles of debris with a series of kicks. Three more crabs entered the alley, and Ulrich leapt to assist the girl as she turned to face them. During a lull in the battle, Ulrich spotted Odd's body crumpled against a wall, unmoving.

Ulrich and the girl destroyed the crabs with ease. They ran to Odd's fallen body and breathed a sigh of relief when they saw he was breathing. Ulrich ran to get some water from a nearby restaurant, while the girl looked after Odd.

One Minute Later

Ulrich nearly dropped the water when he re-entered the alley, mostly because Odd and the mysterious girl were kissing fervently.

He let out a little cough, and they sprang apart, blushing intensely. Odd glared daggers at Ulrich, who dumped the water over his head. "Should I have left you two alone?" Ulrich smirked. "Odd, you seem to have invented a new color of red!"

The girl burst out laughing, but Odd just went redder. "You know," Odd got up off the ground, "the only thing preventing me from socking you in the face is the fact that you saved me."

"Actually, your girlfriend did a lot of the work." Ulrich grinned.

"My name's Britta." The girl extended her hand.

"I'm Ulrich. You fight pretty well." Ulrich clasped her hand and shook it.

"Four years of karate. You need any help, Odd?"

"No, I'm fine. Listen, we need to get to the warehouse in the middle of town. We have a way to stop these things." Odd groaned, standing up.

"I'll take the lead," Ulrich said, "There may be more crabs."

Four Minutes Later

"What took you so long?" Jeremie's voice issued from the computer.

"We had a few crab problems, but nothing we couldn't handle. Wait a second! Einstein, are you in Lyoko, or was I just imagining your voice coming out of the computer?" Odd stared at the holographic display.

"No, I'm not. I'm in the factory. Listen Odd, no time to explain, just get your rear in gear and get—wait. Who is that? Ulrich, please tell me you didn't let Odd bring some random girl into the warehouse…"

"Actually, I'm the one who—" Ulrich was cut off by Britta who stomped over to the computer and screamed into the headset.

"Hey, I don't know who you are, or what this place is, but what I do know is that I am perfectly capable of handling whatever you guys are up to!"

"She's right, Jeremie. She took out three crabs single-handedly, and another three with my help. I think we can tell her about Lyoko." Ulrich started towards the door to the scanner room.

"What's Ly—" Britta was interrupted by Jeremie.

"Actually, the point is moot. Return to the past now." Jeremie sounded extremely happy as a dome of white light engulfed Ulrich, Odd, and Britta.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Ulrich found himself back in the movie theater, kissing Yumi. Their heads broke apart, and they smiled at each other.

"Looks like you didn't need my help."

"No, XANA's defense was pretty weak. He only had six hornets and a mega tank guarding the tower. I was able to distract the hornets while Aelita took out the mega tank." Yumi folded her arms.

"That's what you consider _weak_? And since when does Aelita fight?" Ulrich looked at Yumi quizzically.

"After you left, XANA knew we weren't going to be able to fight him as effectively. He launched attacks one after another, always committing huge numbers of monsters to defending the towers."

"That I can understand, but how the heck did Aelita take down a mega tank? Did she use her powers to trick it into rolling off a cliff or something?"

"No, about a year after you left, Jeremie was able to access Aelita's main code. Originally, he was looking for an anti-virus, but instead he stumbled onto her synthesis power's source code. He tweaked it so she can create various weapons out of thin air, but it costs her ten life points per weapon."

"Sounds like Jeremie's been busy. Has he modified any of my weapons or anything?" Ulrich looked hopeful.

"I'm not sure. We'll ask after the movie."

Ulrich and Yumi settled in with their arms around each other, enjoying each other's company.

A few minutes later, a tap on Ulrich's shoulder interrupted their happy moment. "Umm, guys, I hate to interrupt, but we're going to the warehouse to check the connection and see what the exact capabilities of the second supercomputer are." Jeremie smiled. "Plus we can upload all the great pictures of you two that Odd got. I'm sure your parents would be _very_ interested in them…"

"Jeremie, that wouldn't be very nice." Aelita gave him a stern look.

"Ah, I was just kidding. Odd doesn't have any pictures, and even if he did, I would never do that. That's too much like something Sissi would do."

"What's too much like something I would do?" An annoying high-pitched voice cut its way into the conversation. Everyone's least favorite snob approached the gang, accompanied by her two cronies.

"_What is she doing here?_" Odd whispered to Jeremie. "_She wasn't here the first time!"_

"Sissi! How nice to see you!" Ulrich smiled. Yumi, Jeremie, Odd, Aelita, Herb, and Nicholas just stared at him. Sissi gave her best smile, which came out looking more like a sneer.

"Ulrich! I'm glad you've finally learned to appreciate my presence!" Sissi grinned even wider, looking for all the world like some horrible sea monster trying to swallow Ulrich.

"Actually, the reason I'm glad you showed up is because I'm not hungry anymore, so now I have all these snacks that would have gone to waste otherwise." Ulrich picked up his soda and dumped it on her head, then he poured his bag of popcorn into her wet hair. He calmly sat back down and went back to watching the movie. Sissi seethed, then stalked off, dripping soggy popcorn in her path. Herb and Nicholas just stood there for a few seconds, then hurried to catch up to their evil overlord.

Yumi was the first one to start laughing, then the rest of the gang joined in. Odd gave Ulrich a high-five. Jeremie stood up. "Anyway, we were headed to the warehouse, remember?"

Ulrich sighed. "Okay, we'll come."

As Jeremie, Odd, and Aelita edged out of the aisle and headed for the exit, Ulrich started to stand up. Yumi pulled him back down. "You know, they don't really need us. We'll catch up to them in a few minutes." She locked her lips around Ulrich's, and that continued for several minutes.

Finally, Yumi broke the kiss. "As much as I'd love to continue, we should probably get to the others." She stood up

"Yeah, I guess." Ulrich got to his feet. Hand in hand, they walked out of the theater.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"Glad you two could join us!" Jeremie didn't even turn around to look at Yumi and Ulrich as they entered.

"Ooh, look who's holding hands!" Odd ducked as Yumi threw what was left of her soda at him.

"Odd, with all due respect, shut up." Jeremie concentrated on the computer screen, typing the occasional command.

"Wow, Odd, you've gotten even _less_ mature in the past three years! Back at Kadic, you were urging me to ask Yumi out, now you're teasing me because I did!" Ulrich joined in the anti-Odd abuse.

"Yeah, next thing you know, he'll be dancing around singing 'Ulrich and Yumi, sitting in a tree!'" Yumi laughed.

Odd shot a dirty look at her, then grinned. "Great idea, Yumi! Ulrich and Yumi, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I—" He was interrupted by Jeremie.

"Okay, it looks like the connection was severed, but I was able to restore it with my memory stick, and everything is—wait." Jeremie scanned the screen for a few seconds, then frowned. "This is odd."

"What's me?" Odd piped in. Ulrich threw a crumpled piece of paper at him, hitting Odd in the center of the purple dot in his hair.

"Odd, you know very well what Jeremie meant when he said, 'that's odd.'" Aelita said, rolling her eyes.

"Sure, stick up for your boyfriend. Of course I knew what he meant, I was just trying to be—"

"Shut up, Odd! If these reading are accurate, then we need to go to Lyoko immediately." Jeremie read the scrolling text for a few more seconds, then nodded. "I'm picking up some strange readings coming from a tower in the glacier region...the same tower that was activated during that last attack."

"Has it been activated again already?" Odd immediately got serious.

"I don't know what this reading means, but we need to go check it out. Since there are only three scanners, you, Ulrich, and Yumi, will go on ahead. After you're on Lyoko, then I'll transfer Aelita and myself over to the factory, and then once we know what we're up against, I'll send Aelita in if she's needed." Jeremie spun back toward the computer and started typing. "Get into the scanners, you guys."

As the three Lyoko warriors left to go into the scanner room, Aelita watched Jeremie bring up the transfer program. Suddenly, she froze, then slowly turned to face Jeremie. "I just realized something. Remember how Odd noticed that Sissi wasn't at the theater the first time? What if that's related to these strange readings?"

"Could be. Well, we'll have some answers soon enough. Transfer Ulrich. Transfer Odd. Transfer Yumi. Scanner Ulrich. Scanner Odd. Scanner Yumi. Virtualization."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Ulrich appeared above one of the many walkways in the glacier region. He dropped to the ground, drawing his sword as he landed. He watched as Yumi and Odd virtualized in front of him, admiring the cat-like way in which Yumi landed. Yumi looked up and caught him staring. He quickly turned away, blushing. "Come on, the tower's this way."

"You know, Ulrich, this is the first time you've been in Lyoko without having to worry about Aelita being deleted. How does it feel, knowing that you won't have to worry about her?" Odd held an imaginary microphone in front of his friend.

"Odd, no time for games. We have work to do, remember?" Yumi unfolded her fan.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Can't blame a guy for trying to liven up a life-or-death mission, can you?" Odd stuck his tongue out at her.

The trio ran down the path toward the tower with Ulrich in the lead. They rounded a bend, almost crashing into the tower. They backed away from it, and stared up at the top. They didn't find the comforting blue of an inactive tower, or even the fiery red of an active one. Instead, they found…green.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Jeremie and Aelita stepped out of the elevator into the main console room of the factory. Jeremie took his old seat in front of the computer, while Aelita stood behind him. "Let's see whether they've found the tower or not." Jeremie pulled his headset over his head. "Okay, guys, I'm at the factory. Have you found anything yet?"

Ulrich's voice came through the speakers, "You could say that. Jeremie, since I've been gone, has it become normal to find _green_ towers?"

"Green towers? Are you sure it's green, and not some weird reflection of other light?"

"I'm sure, unless we've all gone colorblind. Aelita, do you know anything that might help us?" Yumi sounded worried.

"No, I've never seen one or even read anything about them, and I don't think I could have missed something that important. Maybe this has something to do with the second supercomputer?"

"That would be my guess. Do you think it's safe to go inside?"

"There's only one way to find out. I'm going in." Ulrich's icon entered the tower before anyone could stop him.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

As his head cleared the inner wall of the tower, Ulrich was surprised to find what looked like a normal tower interior. He stepped to the center of the platform and slowly spun in a circle, taking in every detail. "Looks normal to me, Jeremie. Anything strange going out there?"

"No, but Aelita's going over all the material we have on Lyoko. Hopefully she'll get some answers soon. In the meantime, Yumi and Odd, you might as well go in too."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Aelita closed Jeremie's laptop. "It's official. There's nothing about green towers in any of the files we've downloaded. I'm going into Lyoko to check the tower out myself."

"That's probably our best course of action." Jeremie turned away from the computer screen. "I get the feeling that this is some sort of trap, so stay sharp."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Aelita appeared a few feet from the tower and rushed inside. "Okay, I'm in. I'll go up to the upper platform to check out the time reversal program. Odd, you'd better come with me, just in case."

"Why?" Ulrich asked, "Shouldn't we be safe here?"

"Yes, theoretically. But, better safe than sorry." Jeremie piped in.

Aelita and Odd floated up to the upper platform, and Aelita immediately pressed her hand on the panel. Several readouts appeared, and she studied them for a few moments, her face growing white as she read farther into each one. "Jeremie, we have a major problem. According to these readouts, the second supercomputer and XANA _both_ enabled the time reversal program, and the memory deletion process got corrupted in the process. The tower is green to indicate an error."

"You mean—" Jeremie's voice tensed.

"Yes. People are remembering things that happened during the last XANA attack!"

"Is there any way to repair the damage?" Odd asked.

"Fortunately, yes. If we can activate the time reversal program on just one computer, then we would be able to fix it."

"But we can't return to the past without an active tower!" Odd said, confused.

"Correction—we couldn't activate the program on _XANA_ without an active tower. We may be able to do it on the second supercomputer." Jeremie sounded hopeful.

"Let's get to it, then. Aelita, I'm pulling you back out of Lyoko first, then I'll do the others."

Aelita de-virtualized, and appeared in one of the scanners. She rushed into the elevator and into the control room.

"I've already got a fix!" Jeremie practically shouted.

"That was fast." Aelita commented. "Do I need to go back into Lyoko to activate it?"

"Nope, I can activate it from here. Hopefully, we'll be able to use this whenever XANA launches an attack. Return to the past now!"

A white light engulfed the couple, spreading to cover the world.

(End Chapter)

**(A/N)** Yes, I ended a chapter without a cliffy (sorta)! Yay for me! I know that wasn't the best ending, but it was the best I could do after rotting my brain in Disneyworld for a week!

Congratulations to Tellemicus Sundance, allyfromcali, Doggiegal, and renayumi, who correctly guessed that the blue blur was Britta! They have received their prizes by email already, with the notable exception of Tellemicus. Please, Tellemicus, email me with your email and favorite Lyoko avatar so I can give you your prize!

I'll be updating a lot more now, since I already know the basics of the next few chapters. I even have a little song written for XANA's next attack!


End file.
